Maud Ardrey and the Hidden Mission
by Jerlien
Summary: In this story you will meet Maud, who goes to Hogwarts for her first year. There she meets exciting new friends, and the Potter and Weasley clan will definitely make an appearance. But what is the hidden mission...?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hi, I'm so glad to see that you decided to visit my story. Unlike most of my other tries, this story actually has a plot, and I am already writing chapter 5 now. This means that the other chapters should be up quickly. This first chapter is very short, the others will be longer. Hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter 1**

 _It was in the middle of the night when a soft knock on the door urged a relatively young mother to sneak outside, so as to not wake her children._  
 _"Has she gotten her letter?" A male voice asked her, his face hidden behind long black hair and his robe._  
 _"Yes." The woman answered. "She was accepted into Hogwarts."_  
 _"Good." The man said. "Then we will be able to get the plan into action. I hope that you know what is expected of you?" His voice took on a threating sound._  
 _The woman nodded quickly. "Of course, of course. And I will make sure that she somehow knows it too."_  
 _"Then we will await the results. And don't forget that we have an insider in Hogwarts." With that last threat, the man disappeared without a sound, and the woman entered her house, shaking and tears threatening to fall. She curled up on the couch, and wonder above wonder fell asleep._

"Mom, what are you doing here? Why did you sleep on the couch?" Two girls were looking at their mother, who slowly woke from her deep sleep. The girls looked at each other and grinned, after which they jumped on their mother, who was immediately awake.  
"No, girls, you are way too old and heavy for that right now. Please spare your mother." But the mother herself did not spare her two daughters, for she began her own tickling assault which she knew they couldn't resist. As soon as her two girls begged for mercy, she stoop up. "Maud, Maera, go take a shower. We are going to Diagon Alley today!""Yay!" The two girls shouted. They didn't go there very often, and especially not since the last year. The oldest girl, Maud, forced herself not to think about it, and raced behind her younger sister. A while later they both came downstairs again, and Maud had a brush in her hands.

"Mom, will you comb my hair?" She asked very sweetly.  
"And mine too?" Maera added. They both loved when their mother combed their hair.  
"Sure, sit down." Their mother said. Just like she was at that time, the girls were quite small for their age. They also were the mirror image of each other. Both had long, blondish hair and very expressive blue eyes. She was of course biased, but she thought her daughters were the prettiest girls she had ever seen. She hugged her oldest daughter Maud from behind and said. "You're all done, it's Maera her turn now." Maud stood up and went to set the table.

They went to Diagon Alley as soon as they finished eating. She hadn't seen Maud that excited in a very long time and it hurt her to know that she would have to involve her. She put all of that off her mind for now though, something she had gotten very good at since three years ago. She would enjoy this day at Diagon Alley just as much as her daughters and then the next day she would find a way to tell Maud. She would.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She looked around with amazement. Though her mother had told her that it would be very busy, she hadn't quite expected this. After walking though the solid looking brick wall to get to platform 9 3/4th, she was overwhelmed by the amount of people. The Hogwarts Express was steaming and made it look even busier. She looked at her little sister, Maera, who had unconsciously taken hers and her mothers' hand. As they got closer to an entrance they stopped and her mother gave her a hug. "It will be fine, you'll do great at Hogwarts." She said. Maud nodded. She would be fine. "Just know that I love you and that Maera and I will be waiting for you to come home again." Maud nodded again. "Alright then, off you go!" Her mother said. Maud gave a tight hug to her little sister before taking her trunk and boarding the train.

The inside of the train seemed to be just as busy as outside. There were children running down the aisles and walking in and out of compartments. She passed quite a few compartments before she found one where there were only two boys sitting, looking like they were also going to Hogwarts for the first time.

"Hello, may I sit here?" She asked them when she opened the door.

"Sure." Said the boy sitting on the right. He had a brown skin and very curly hair in the exact same colour. The boy sitting in front of him also agreed. He was a very plump boy with blonde hair.

"Thanks. Most of the other compartments are already full, or there are older children there." She said whilst sitting down next to the dark boy. "I'm Maud, what are your names?"

"I'm Rory." Said the dark boy. "And my name is William." Said the plump boy. Just as she was thinking about what she could say next, the compartment opened and a boy and a girl entered.

"Hi, I'm Alyn and that's Evan." She said boldly and pointed at the boy whom she entered with. "We would like to sit here too, if that's okay. All the other compartments are filled with hyperactive idiots." Maud snorted. That was one way to describe it! The girl looked at her and narrowed her piercing eyes. "You think that's funny?" She asked.

"Well yes." Maud answered. "And I must say that I thought it was a very good description." A small smile appeared on Alyn's face. "Finally someone with sense. What's your name?"

Maud smiled back. "My name's Maud. The boy sitting next to me is Rory and that's William." She said while she pointed to the two boys. Alyn sat down next to William and Evan next to her. The contrast between William and Alyn was big. Alyn was a quite small girl, with strawberry blonde hair, white skin with a few freckles and very piercing eyes which seemed to notice everything. William was plump, blonde hair, but the biggest difference would be in the fact that he seemed very drawn back and his eyes were definitely not piercing and all-seeing.

"So which houses do you guys think you'll be in?" Alyn asked, looking all of them in the eye. William looked uncertain under her gaze and didn't answer immediately, but Rory did. "My parents were both in Hufflepuff, so I think that is a very real possibility, though I wouldn't mind Gryffindor either." He had a kind of twinkle in his eye, like he was having fun all the time.

"I think it will be Slytherin for me." Maud said. At least she hoped so, for it was expected of her. It gained her an appreciative look-over from Alyn. "Awesome." Said Evan. Probably the first thing he had said since entering. "Alyn and I are also going to be in Slytherin." This almost made Maud snort again. The boy was really sure about it, not saying that he thought they would be in Slytherin, but that they are going to be. Now four of them looked at William, who looked as a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "Um, I think, Hufflepuff?" Alyn nodded like she thought that would be the most likely option indeed and turned her attention to Evan. What then ensued was some discussion about Quidditch teams she had not even heard about before, and certain goals that were made by certain players and of course who had cheated or not. She looked at Rory, who was at a loss for words just like her. "You ever played Quidditch before?" He asked her. She nodded. "Yes, but just with my family. You?" "Well, yes, because my father is a huge fan of Quidditch, he always wants to play whenever we have time." They looked at William, to see if he wanted to join the discussion, but he was looking out of the window. Though looking might be a big word, it was more like his eyes were open and pointed towards the window. It didn't seem like he was actually seeing anything.

"Are you going to try out for the team?" Alyn asked Maud out of the blue. She shrugged. "I'm not sure, I've always thought that those bludgers look quite scary and I'm not the greatest at throwing, so if I do try out it would be for seeker." "I want to try out for seeker too." Evan said. "Not me." Alyn looked gleeful. "I would like to hit bludgers at people." Maud reminded herself to stay on her good side.

The rest of the train ride went on in fun conversation that seemed to jump from one topic to another random topic and Maud found herself quite liking Alyn. The girl would probably not be someone she could trust completely, but she was funny and sharp. When an older girl entered their compartment to tell them they were getting close to Hogwarts, the boys left the compartment so she and Alyn could change.

"So what do you think of William, is he a muggle-born?" Alyn asked. Maud shrugged. "It has crossed my mind, but he did seem to have heard about Quidditch before, or else he would have asked something right?" "I don't know. He is awfully shy and lost in thought." "Yes, I noticed that too. Really strange." Maud thought about other things she had noticed during the ride. "Does Evan like you?" She asked, and noticed a very light blush creeping up Alyn her cheeks. "He's my boyfriend, we have known each other since we were young and he asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend almost half a year ago." Alyn confessed. "That's so nice, he's cute!" And he was. Evan had brown eyes, brown hair and a very expressive face. "I know. You have beautiful hair by the way." Alyn said. "Thanks." And at that moment the boys knocked on the door. "Are you girls done yet? We would also like to change before we arrive!" Evan called through the closed door. Maud and Alyn looked at each other and laughed. Both contemplated letting the boys wait outside for a while longer, but decided not to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When they got off the train a nice wind blew them in the face. They stood there without a purpose, not knowing where to go. The older students walked towards carriages, which had blackish looking creatures in front of it. Just as she wanted to ask Alyn whether or not they should follow them, they heard a woman shout. "First years over here! First years towards the lake!"

"Do you see her?" She asked Alyn, who was a little taller than she was. The girl shook her head. "Nope. Don't see nothing." The five of them looked around for a little while longer and finally did see the woman who was calling out when most of the older – and longer - students had left. She was quite short, which explained why they didn't see her earlier, and very thin. Her hair was all around the place and she had glasses. All in all, she seemed like a very chaotic woman.

"Hello everyone. My name is Professor Zamieszanie and I am Deputy Headmaster. If you would all please board the boats, with 4 to one boat please. No more." At once all the students began walking towards a boat. She looked at Alyn and they made their way to one of the boats themselves, with Evan following closely behind them. They were joined by a mean looking boy, who deliberately looked down on them when stepping in the boat. "What do we have here? Alyn Ivory and her boyfriend Evan Forbes. And…" He stopped when he looked at her. She kept quiet on purpose, not planning to give in to a bully on the very first day at Hogwarts. The boy narrowed his eyes at her, not making himself look any prettier with the big nose he had. "What's your name?" He almost growled.

She looked up to him very calmly. "It's good manners to introduce yourself first when encountering new people, like Alyn and Evan did." She paused for a short while and tilted her head to the side. "And if I were you I would sit down."  
The boy who had not introduced himself looked at her with puzzlement, like he was very surprised she talked back to him like that and not understanding why he would have to sit down. At that exact moment the boat began to move, and the boy, losing his balance, fell down into the water. When he surfaced, he had such a dumb look on his face that a giggle escaped her. He should have listened to her advice. The giggle turned into a full laugh when she looked Alyn in the eyes and they both had a laughing fit. Luckily for the boy Professor Zamieszanie was a bit more attentive than most would have thought and he was back in their boat by no time. Looking very angry. And wet.

It didn't take very long for them to reach the castle, which looked majestic, and Maud was overwhelmed by it. When she got herself together again, she saw that she was not the only one enchanted by it. Even the boy, whose name she still did not know, was looking at it in amazement. The hall they were lead to was a bit less amazing, but the two great wooden doors before which they stopped weren't. Professor Zamieszanie turned around and addressed them.  
"I am very happy to see so many first years. For those of you who don't know what is going to happen now, I will explain it. When you enter those doors you will get sorted into one of the four houses by the sorting hat. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, each known for its own strong points. Your house will be your family while you are here." She opened the huge wooden doors and they all heard the sound of many students talking to each other coming from behind it. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

When all first years walked into the Great Hall nervously, the murmuring quieted down little by little. Maud looked around, overwhelmed by everything. The Great Hall was a very large, with a high ceiling that showed the sky. A lot lower chandeliers floated, giving the large room a cosy feeling. In front of them were 4 rows of tables, with students wearing different colours. Behind them were the Professors, sitting behind a large table. A little to the left of them was a very old looking hat, put on a stool. All the students looked at it with either interest or boredom. Because she had noticed that the hat was the centre of attention, she wasn't as surprised as the others when the hat began to sing.

 _With the beginning of our new school year,  
_ _The sorting ceremony is no longer just near.  
_ _Upon seeing this strange old hat,  
_ _Some students look a bit had.  
_ _Faces turning a shade of white or red,  
_ _All of them filled with dread.  
_ _But don't worry about should be,  
_ _For you would better be worrying about me.  
_ _Put me on and I will tell you all where I believe,  
_ _With which house you can best achieve.  
_ _The first house is Gryffindor,  
_ _With outstanding courage and wit.  
_ _The second house is Hufflepuff,  
_ _Where the loyal and hardworking go.  
_ _Ravenclaw is known for its brains,  
_ _And excelling in studies.  
_ _Last we have our house Slytherin,  
_ _You go here if cunning is your thing.  
_ _You will hear the details when you are called,  
_ _So now just be enthralled._

Maud listened intently to the hat, but looked at the students instead. They all looked quite bored now, even those who were interested in the beginning. Apparently they had been hoping for something more instead of just mentioning the first years looking nervous, or the houses.

"When I call your name, please come forward!" Said Professor Zamieszanie, quickly, before the students could begin talking. With a quick glance at the table she supposed was Gryffindor, judging by the colours, she saw a few boys exchanging things and then looking at the students and the hat intently. She also looked over at the Professor, because her surname began with an A, so she would probably be called over very soon.

"Ackerley, Kate." Was the first name called, and a very, very, very nervous girl walked towards the hat. She was trembling like a leaf, and it was a wonder she managed to get the hat on her head and not drop it beside her by accident. It didn't take the hat very long to call out Hufflepuff, and the girl walked towards her house, almost stumbling on the steps. As soon as she sat down, Professor Zamieszanie continued.

"Amberbee, Joey." This time it was a boy who stepped forward. Still looking nervous, but less than the girl before him. When he put the hat on his head, it managed to stay quite high, because he had rather large ears which held it up. It took a bit longer for the hat to decide his house, but it eventually said Gryffindor. The boy a huge smile on his face as he walked towards the cheering Gryffindors.

"Ardrey, Maud." She wasn't surprised when her name was called up next. There usually weren't that many surnames beginning with an A. She walked up towards the hat, not trying to show that she, too, was a bit nervous about being sorted. She took the hat, and put it on, disappearing into a new world for a while when her vision turned dark as the hat was too large. _"I see, made up your mind, haven't you?"_ A voice sounded inside her head. She nodded slightly, for the hat was right. _"Well, I think you would do great in other houses as well, but I understand your choice. Fare well."_ "SLYTHERIN!"Called the hat, and she stood up relieved, put the hat down on the stool again calmly and walked towards her house. She had made Slytherin.


	4. The password is Devil's Snare

**AN:** Hi there! Hope you are enjoying my story so far. The first few chapters will be revolving around Maud and her experiences and it will introduce some important characters. There will still not be that much action, but the coming chapters will hint at it. Please review :)

 **Chapter 4 – the password is Devil's Snare**

She sat down at an empty spot at the Slytherin table and was welcomed by the older students. The next was already called though, and all paid attention to the sorting again, Maud hoping that Alyn would join her in Slytherin, as she had predicted.

Some girl named Berta Bellingday was sorted into Ravenclaw. Camron Bircher, a boy who was out of proportion with large hands and large feet, but a very short height was sorted into Hufflepuff and then the guy on the boat was called forward with:

"Callunis, Hayes." She still noticed the size of his nose, which was just way too big for his face. He walked forward very confidently and took the hat to put it on. He didn't get that far with it however, for it already screamed Slytherin. She saw a grin appear on his face as he walked towards her table. She clapped together with the rest of her house and smiled sweetly at him when he sat down opposite of her. "Nice to meet you, _Hayes_." He smirked at her. "Same to you, _Maud Ardrey_." After which they both paid attention to the sorting again. It was quite a while until a name was called up that she recognized.

Evan walked up to the stool and took the hat. He had just enough time to put it on his head when he was sorted into Slytherin. He looked back to Alyn and grinned, after which he walked towards the Slytherin table to join her and Hayes. He came to sit beside her and just as he opened his mouth to say something and start a conversation, like the rest of the students were beginning to do, Professor Zamieszanie coughed very loudly to get their attention again.

Hacklebrough, Sherwin joined them too, followed by Hilner, Ivana, who was a quite big girl in comparison to herself and had dark brown hair. She was neither ugly or pretty, just kind of average looking.

When "Ivory, Alyn" was called, she stopped examining the girl and looked at Alyn, who walked forward and put the hat on. It had enough time to sink down and hide her face, when she could take if off again because she was sorted with her and Evan in Slytherin. Maud clapped harder than she had done before and was rewarded by a smile from Alyn when she sat down between her and Evan (she had somehow created enough space to sit there). Because they were still not allowed to talk, Maud lost her concentration to pay attention and yawned. Only when names were called that she recognized, like those of Rory and William (both sorted into Hufflepuff just like they had expected) did she manage to get her concentration back for a short while. She clapped dutifully whenever they were joined by other first years, but had not heard their names.

"Potter, Lily" She perked up when she heard that name, for her mother had mentioned that name before. The girl that walked towards the stool had red hair, seemed very happy, and not nervous at all. Just as had happened with others before, she only had to touch the hat to be sorted. Before however, when the hat was so certain about someone it had always been Slytherin that it called out. Now it called Gryffindor, and the loudest applause yet erupted from the Gryffindor table, towards which the girl now skipped. She was hugged by several boys and girls when she arrived and simply sat there glowing.

She was joined by two other redheads and one with black hair and a light brown skin, all three with the same surname of Weasley.

Before she had time to lose her concentration again, the last girl was sorted. Somehow her appearance stood out to Maud. The girl had brown hair, but there was some blonde mixed in. Her name was Luca Yldris and she was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Professor Zamieszanie rolled up the parchment from which she had read the names and went to sit down with the other teachers. A very imposing man stood up in her stead and walked to stand in the middle.

"Hello students. For the first years under you, my name is Professor Igelkott and I am the headmaster. Before I will let you enjoy your meal I would first like to introduce a few teachers to you. Starting this year is Professor Idrys." Professor Igelkott motioned for a very sympathetic looking man to stand up. "He will teach Care of Magical Creatures." Professor Idrys nodded and sat back down again.

"Seeing as Professor Flinder is leaving us as well, we have Professor Vernarben taking over Defence Against the Dark Arts." Again the new Professor was urged to stand up. As he did so, Maud could see that a huge scar marred his face, it went from the upper right until it reached the left side of his chin. It luckily seemed to have spared his eye and nose, but did leave the man look very scary.

"Then I will get on with a few rules. The Forbidden Forest is forbidden, and has been so since a very long time." This part of the speech seemed to be directed towards certain Gryffindors, as he looked over to that table. "After curfew there is no walking around the hallways, you will do good to remember that." At this he took his time to look everyone in the eyes. "Enjoy your dinner."

And that seemed to be the magical words, for in an instant the table was filled with the most delicious looking foods. Even though she was very tired, smelling the food made her realise she was also quite hungry, and as she looked for the dishes without meat, she was pleasantly surprised. Her mother didn't have to be afraid of whether or not she would have enough to eat.

After they were all more than full, a very big girl lead them to the common room. The password for entering was 'Devil's Snare', which didn't sound very pleasant. Maud and Alyn immediately went towards the girl's dormitory, where they went to the bed that had their stuff. They changed into their pyjamas, exchanged a few 'good nights' and fell asleep.


	5. New meetings and new spells

**AN:** And hello again. The longest chapter yet, though it will not be longest one I ever write. If you read it, please review (even if the next chapter is already up).

 **Chapter 5 – New meetings and new spells**

The weekend before the first classes was spent exploring the castle. They were given a tour by the same girl that had brought them to the common room the first evening, and Maud still didn't know her name. She got on quite well with Alyn and Evan, but they were very evidently a couple and sometimes made it very clear that they wanted to spent some time without her. She didn't like the other girls in her dormitory that much. Ivana was very quiet the first day, but after she had befriended Lamia, Branna and Mona, she kept talking. The four of them were always whispering about other people if they weren't talking out loud about their great families or about amazing stories they had heard of Hogwarts. Maud simply didn't like them. The boys that got sorted into Slytherin at the same time as she did, were not that great either. While she had gotten somewhat friendly with Hayes, she absolutely loathed Sherwin Shacklebrough. The boy was too stupid to count his fingers, kept forgetting the password and was always found around Hayes, who apparently was happy to have him as one of his lackeys. The other boys were so dislikeable she didn't even know their names. This is why it was very lucky for Maud that the lesson were starting that morning.

"Alyn, I'm telling you that your hair is looking perfect. It is wavy, shiny and not at all frizzy. Now can we go get breakfast?" She whined when her friend kept looking in the mirror and adjusting one or two strands of hair.

"I can't help it that my hair just needs a bit more attention before it looks as good as yours always does!" Alyn snapped. The first morning Maud was shocked and hurt when Alyn behaved like that. She had learned very quickly however that Alyn just had a morning temper and that it would all be okay again after she had eaten breakfast. Another thing she had learned was that Alyn didn't do apologies. Even if she was very clearly wrong and if whatever she had done or said hurt the other person, while she didn't mean it like that, an apology had never left her lips. She was simply too proud and stubborn.

That was why Maud just shrugged and left her friend behind whilst she walked towards the Great Hall. Alyn would join her when she was ready, she just hoped for her that there would still be time to eat. The Great Hall was full of students, who all seemed in a hurry, even though classes would not start in at least 45 minutes. She sat down at a very empty table and started breakfast. She had just taken a bite out of her toast when a boy, looking like he was a couple years older, gave her something.

"Hi, you are Maud right? Coleen wanted me to give you your schedule." He said, and saw it dawn in her eyes. She chewed very quickly so she could answer him.

"Thank you. But who is Coleen?" She asked rather confused. She definitely didn't remember anyone by the name of Coleen. The boy looked at her strangely and sat down beside her.

"Well, she is the prefect." It still didn't clear things up for her however, and he continued. "The girl who has been showing you first years around the whole weekend?"

"Oh! You mean the girl Who's-Name-I-Don't-Know!" She said, very clearly speaking in capital letters'. The boy chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't know who's name you don't know, but if I had to guess I would say yes." Maud flushed slightly. It didn't sound strange at all in her head…

"My name is Scorpius by the way, third year. Would prefer to have your schedule though, I have to choose at least two extra courses." It was only then that she looked at the schedule that he had given her and looked at him incredulously.

"We only have three or four classes a day?"

"Yep. Don't be too happy though. They all expect you to do quite some homework. Well, except for flying, so that's easily the best class you can get." It was then that he got bumped in the shoulder by another boy, who had startling green eyes and messy black hair. "Gotta go Scorp, don't want to be late for our first class of this year now, do we?" He grinned, like it didn't matter to him if they actually were late. Scorpius rolled his eyes and stood up. "Bye Maud, good luck with your first classes!" She nodded and turned back to her toast, which was disappointingly enough cold now. She quickly finished it and looked around for Alyn, but when she couldn't find her, she left for her very first class, that was called Charms. She walked up to the third floor, luckily not stepping on any trick steps this time. She was a very quick learner when it came to those sort of things. Having your leg hanging down whilst being on the sixth floor wasn't one of her most favourite things.

It still took some navigating through the hallway to actually find the right classroom, so she was very happy that she was there in time. To her surprise Alyn was already seated and had saved her a seat. After the last student had entered, the Professor stood up from behind her desk, where she had been reading.

"Welcome to Charms. This class will be easy for some and challenging for others. I expect all of you to do your best however and to hand in your homework on time. Failing to do so will lead to detention." She looked at each of them individually, and continued. "My name is Eleanore Varop and I expect to be addressed as Professor Varop." She let a silence fall again before she began the name call. They were attending this class at the same time as Gryffindor and it didn't surprise Maud that foul looks were exchanged between the two houses. Maud didn't pay that much attention to the name call, it wasn't like she would actually remember names because of it. She dutifully said yes when her name was called, but otherwise looked around the class. In front of them lay quills, and other random objects seemed to be scattered throughout the classroom. There were quite a few paintings on the walls and the desk in front of the room was empty except for the book that Professor Varop had been reading.

"I will now assign you your partners, with whom you will sit this whole year. You'd better get along well." Maud looked up with surprise and saw the same in Alyn her eyes. They had expected to sit together, instead Professor Varop was mixing the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Evan Forbes had to sit with Hunter Robertson, a very handsome boy, and he knew it too. Hayes was made to sit with Lucy Weasley, a very adorable looking girl who was still missing an eyetooth. Alyn had to sit with Hugo Weasley, a shy redhead who blushed when he looked at her friend. And she herself was made to sit with Lily Potter. She got up and walked towards the girl. They both smiled at each other and Maud decided that she would probably survive Charms.

"I prefer my lesson to be very practical. The theory behind everything we do in my lesson is inside the book you have all bought, so I will often give you a chapter to read as homework. Any questions about what you read can be asked at the beginning of each lesson. Now, the spell we will begin with is called ' _Wingardium Leviosa'._ As you can see, it levitates the object you charmed." The whole class looked in amazement as Professor Varop had levitated her whole desk. "You will begin small however, and I take it that everyone has seen the quills in front of them. If you will all please repeat after me: _Wingardium Leviosa_. Exactly, that sounds very good. Please also note the wand movement, for it looks like this." Everyone looked very intently at what she did, for they were eager to try their first official piece of magic. She walked around the classroom and looked at all the movements they made, sometimes correcting them. "Very well class, you can try it out now."

Immediately the room was filled with the eager tries.

" _Wingardium Leviosa"_ she heard next to her. Lily had also tried to lift her quill. It didn't really lift up, but it did move a bit. Maud concentrated very hard on the quill in front of her, and also said " _Wingardium Leviosa"_ , added to a firm 'swish and flick' of her wand. To her surprise the quill actually lifted off the table for a second, when she lost her concentration.

"Wow, you did it on your first try!" Lily said to her with awe. Maud smiled back wholeheartedly. "I'm sure you can do it on your second try, you were very close with your first try." She said to Lily, who nodded and focused all her attention on her quill. It rose very slowly but steadily and Lily beamed at her. For the rest of the lesson, they competed who could lift their quill the highest and hold it there for the longest. They were paying so much attention to their feat that didn't notice Professor Vapor watching them with something bordering amusement and an emotion that was difficult to place. "Well done miss Potter and miss Ardrey." She said to them when they both lost control over their quills at the same time. "10 points to both of your houses."

A short bell rang to notify them of the end of the lesson, and she walked with Alyn to their next class. "He really just kept mumbling the spell the whole time, and the quill didn't even move once during the whole lesson. Idiot. Even my quill lifted off the table by the end." Alyn said. Apparently Hugo Weasley, whom she had been seated with hadn't managed to get over his shyness, and Maud could imagine Alyn looking down on him when he failed to do it. Poor guy.

All the energy Maud had gotten from the Charms lesson was drained out of her by the next class though. She was shocked to see that a ghost was teaching it, but had taken out her parchment and quill to take diligent notes. A few lines was all she had managed to write down however before her attention began to wander. After fifteen minutes she had resorted to writing notes to Alyn talking about anything more interesting than this class.

The last class they had that day, which came after lunch, was Herbology. It was one of the classes for which they had to had to go outside, seeing as it was taught in a greenhouse. Maud didn't mind the walk it took though. The weather was still very nice and the sun warmed her up. She would have preferred to stay soaking in the sun, but didn't want to risk lagging behind the others and not being able to find the greenhouse. The greenhouse actually smelled more like nature than it did outside the greenhouse and it was kind of overwhelming. The Professor introduced himself as Professor Longbottom and he was a tall man, who really seemed to enjoy his profession. They shared this class with Ravenclaw, who could almost answer all the questions he asked. All in all, the day had floated by, and she was very tired when she went to bed that night.


	6. Missing home

**Chapter 6 – missing home and discovering new things**

The first week had been gone before she even realized it. It was Wednesday morning of the second week when an owl landed in front of her, with a letter attached. She turned pale as she remembered that she never sent the letter she had written to her mother. Guiltily she opened the letter.

 _Dear Maud,_

 _I am writing you to help you remember you still have to send me your letter. I suspected that you would forget to do so, and I am happy that you did, for it means that you are enjoying yourself. Congratulations on making Slytherin, it really puts my mind at ease. In case you are wondering how I know this, do you remember when I told you that there is someone in the castle who can help you? Well, that person in Eleanore Varop and she has been so kind to let me know how you are doing. I am glad to hear that you are getting along with Lily Potter, that is a good step in the right direction. Don't forget that they really need it by the end of your first year though, I am sorry that you have to do this._

 _Maera wants to send you her favourite photo, so you won't forget us, but I don't think that is the best idea, so I have added one of you and your sister instead._

 _Lots of love from the both of us,_

 _Maera and mom_

She blinked a couple of times to make her teary eyes not teary anymore and was thankful that her mother knew her so well. She hadn't expected Professor Varop to know her mother, however. The Professor had never said anything to her to assume that she did know her mother.

"Hey, you alright?" A kind voice asked her. She looked up to see Scorpius sitting down next to her and quickly folded her letter.

"Yes, I am, just missing home." She answered. Then, not wanting him to ask about home, she asked: "Did you manage to be on time for your first lesson though last week?"

Scorpius chuckled. "Only just. Al wanted me to help him and James, his brother, with something first." She looked at him with curiosity, what would they have wanted to do even before the first class had started? Scorpius was shaking his head, answering her non-verbal question. "Ahw.." She said, whilst she tilted her head a bit to the side, trying to look as innocent as she could.

"Alright, alright." Scorpius said, giving in. "Just please stop looking at me like that. Come closer, don't want the rest to find out." Maud complied and scooted a bit closer to the older boy. And as he was explaining what he was helping them with, a smile slowly appeared on her face. That was seriously cool. "I didn't even know such things were possible!" She whispered. The only answer she got to that was a huge grin on his face as he stood up to join Albus, who was waving at him from over at the Gryffindor table. "Gotta go. Remember, don't tell anyone, not even your friend. Wouldn't want to spoil the fun, right?" He said to her with a wink as he turned to walk over to Albus.

Her smile refused to leave her face for the reminder of the day. The classes she had today were all nice, first period was Herbology, followed by Potions, though she preferred the double class, because then they actually got to make a potion instead of just learning about all the different types of ingredients and their properties. Charms was one of her favourite classes. Actually she liked all of them, except for History of Magic and Astronomy, during which classes she was always tired.

The most special thing of her day happened after Charms - during which she and Lily had both again managed to unlock the locked boxes with _Alohomora_ in one of their first tries. It happened when she was walking towards the Slytherin common room and had to take a detour because the hallway was flooded for some strange reason. She had just rounded a corner when she noticed a very green, round door. Or at least, she supposed it was a door, because it looked nothing like a painting or a decoration. She looked around if anyone was near, and then knocked on the door. Feeling very silly when nobody came to open it, she looked around for a knob to open the door with. And just as she was about to try _Alohomora_ , she heard a sound. In fright, she pressed herself against the green door, which vanished without warning. She tumbled backwards into the room she had tried to open and the door closed again, leaving her in a dark place.

She was just about to panic when lights suddenly came on, showing her a very comfortable looking room. The thing she noticed most and for all, though, was the glass window a few metres in front of her. Almost in trance, she walked towards it. It stretched the entirety of the room, and was circular. It stretched above her head as well, when she followed it upwards with her eyes. She saw all kinds of fishes swim past it, and even a glimpse of a very big tentacle, which caused her to examine the rest of the room. Looking back at the door, there was a fireplace to the right, with a comfortable looking chair in front of it. In front of the glass dome, there was a couch, with soft pillows. The room was mostly white, with a hint of green in everything.

On the opposite side of the fireplace, there was another round door. Placing both hands on it, trying to push it open, it disappeared just like the other door, almost making her fall through again. She had made her way into a small hallway that seemed to have a dead end. To her right there were two doors, and to her left there was only one. She hesitated for a second, before choosing the first door on her right. It revealed a toilet, shower and sink when she looked through the doorway. Definitely not what she had expected, but then, she didn't really know what she actually did expect to see. The next door to her right showed a very comfortable looking bed, with a drawer. Now really curious to see what the only room left had to show - maybe a kitchen? - she opened the last door and stepped inside. This room was L-shaped, and had a large desk in front of a glass window again, giving almost the same view as the one in the living room. The most amazing thing was hidden behind the turn though, for it showed her the view of a very big, round, wall-covering bookcase. It was very high; in fact, the very ceiling was very high, which seemed the strangest thing, wasn't she still in the dungeons? The bookcase itself was not only filled with books – there were definitely a lot of those – but she also found glass vials filled with the strangest things, and lots of different objects that she didn't know the name of. On a table in the middle was a cauldron, with notebooks beside it. In the other corner of the room was another table, filled with even more notebooks, though there were neatly organised. Maud grinned happily. The amount of dust on the floors, even though everything else seemed untouched, told her that no-one had been here in a very long time, making it her own place.


End file.
